SDCC '08 - Marvel: Your Universe Panel

At plenty of past Marvel Comics panels, employees from their publishing branch have been asked questions about movie, TV or video game projects, only to have the answer be “Sorry, but that’s not our department.” Well, that shouldn’t be a problem at Friday morning’s “Marvel: Your Universe” panel, headed up by Marvel Comics editor-in-chief Joe Quesada, joined by Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige, Marvel publishing president Dan Buckley and Craig Kyle, senior VP of creative development for Marvel animation (and X-Force co-writer).

Quesada started the panel by quickly showing slides of Secret Invasion, Punisher: War Zone,and X-Men Origins: Wolverine film panels, generic teaser slides for the upcoming Thor, Ant-Man, and Avengers movies, Spider-Man: Web of Shadows and Ultimate Alliance 2 video games, and animation projects like Wolverine and the X-Men, Iron Man: Armored Adventures, Hulk vs. Wolverine, Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow, and the Super Hero Squad cartoon, based on the line of toys.

After introducing the panelists,
which included Marvel marketing's Jim McCann, Quesada opened up the panel to
questions.

The first question concerned a fan who wanted to
see more "scheming" female villains rather than highly-powered ones.
Quesada seemed to mostly agree with the fans thoughts, though a bit confused by
the question.
The next fan asked who might play Captain America in the upcoming "Captain America"
movie, suggesting Ben Affleck. "Do you guys want to see Ben Affleck?"
asked Feige, only to receive a loud chorus of
"NO!"""""
Quesada added that he
thought the "Spider-Man" movies putting the character in the classic
red and blue suit was a big step forward with movie adaptations, showing that
comic characters don't have to be drastically changed for the screen.
Someone
who enjoyed this summer's "Incredible Hulk" asked if the film, which
grossed less than "Iron Man" and other summer blockbusters, met
expectations. Feige said that if the fans enjoyed it, it met expectations, and
that in Hollywood,
if a subsequent movie makes "a dollar" more than your first (the 2003
"Hulk"), it's a success, which this year's movie did. "And the
Hulk will certainly return," said Feige.
Any chance of
Marvel publishing moving out west? Quesada didn't rule it out, and added that
he enjoyed the west coast weather, but said they already work closely with
their west coast division and they don't seem al that far away as it is.
Buckley
added that he thought New York City
was such an important part of Marvel Comics, that he thought a move would
change that.
An employee at a Santa Barbara comic book store complained
that none of the current Hulk comic books resembled the "Incredible
Hulk" movie. Buckley advised the employee to refer back to the classic
trade paperbacks in print, and that everyone in each division should have the
ability to "stretch their legs" and do something "fresh and
excited," instead of corporately dictating storylines.
"Planet
Hulk and World War Hulk didn't have anything to do with the movie, but we
generated a lot of interest with the character," said Buckley.
A
fan asked a relatively rambling question about the importance of continuity,
and characters changing over time while simultaneously staying true to their
origins. "It's always a challenge," said Quesada. "I think
people mistake continuity for consistency, and consistency is much more
important...in the movies, too, I think there's going to be a consistency in
the characters. Tony Stark is still pretty much the same guy he was back in the
'60s, just with a little bit of modernization."
"I
don't want people to have to have seen all five movies, just to understand the
sixth movie," added Feige. "That's the problem with continuity, if
you get too mired in it, you make a small group of hardcore fans really happy,
but you alienate about 90 percent on the rest of the audience."
Before
the next question, a fan praised the "Hulk vs. Wolverine" animated
movie that screened yesterday at the con. He then asked what it was like,
day-to-day, to work at Marvel. Both Feige and Buckley discussed how the offices
work together, with Buckley saying "we're one of the biggest mom and pop
shops out there," and saying, simply, "We email a lot."
A
particularly dedicated fan who purchased 10,000 shares of Marvel stock when it
was a couple bucks of share thanked the panel for improving the company's
product (and making him a bunch of money, presumably). He then asked if Jon
Favreau would be returning for the "Iron Man" sequel. Feige said he
couldn't comment on it, but asked the fans if they wanted him back (they did).
Dr.
Doom fan asked if he was going to be in the "Avengers" movie; Feige
said he could not be since he's included in the "Fantastic Four"
rights that are with 20th Century Fox. Buckley said that Doom will be a big
part of their publishing plans for next year.
A common
convention question - when will Ultimate Hulk vs. Wolverine finish? - was
asked. Quesada said that Damon Lindelof owes him "one more" script,
and that the fan should ask Lindelof about it if he sees the "Lost"
co-showrunner around the con.
Will the five original Avengers
be in the "Avengers" movie? Feige said they have the rights to them
all, and it's currently the plan to have all five of them on screen together.
More
from the "Eternals" or the "Inhumans"? Buckley asked the
fan if he's been reading the current "Eternals" series by the Knaufs,
which the fan wasn't even aware existed. He also reminded the fan about the
upcoming "Secret Invasion: Inhumans" mini-series.
Kyle
was asked if there were any "dream" projects for the animation team.
"Since I've got to Marvel, there's a series I've been wanting to
make," said Kyle, referring to "Wolverine and the X-Men",
starting next spring on Nicktoons. "We have about 60 plus mutants in the
series".
"We tried to young up the X-Men"
[referring to X-Men: Evolution]. "It wasn't what we should be doing. No
one wanted to see '9021-X'. I appreciate the work we did on the show, but X-Men
works one way, the way it is in the books."
The first
official "One More Day" complaint of Comic-Con International 2008
(well, in a Marvel panel anyway) was logged - the ol' "Peter Parker would
never make a deal with the devil" line. Buckley stepped in, and said that
Mephisto wasn't the devil, he's a Marvel supervillain, with no religious
connotations.
Quesada also stepped in, noting that it wasn't
actually Peter Parker that made the deal, it was Mary Jane. He explained (again)
that he thought "One More Day" was necessary to get Spider-Man where
the character needed to be.
A fan, wearing a hat with frog
eyes on it, asked (appropriately enough) when the X-Men villain Toad will come
back. Kyle said he'll be in the 'Wolverine and the X-Men' cartoon.
Any
more characters they'd like to "re-do" in films, like "The
Incredible Hulk" (the fan specifically asked about Juggernaut, not liking
that he wore a "padded suit" instead of being CGI)? "It's funny,
if he was CGI, people would ask me to put him in a padded suit," said
Feige.
He added that Juggernaut is a great character, and
that more could be explored than him just smashing through walls, but there
didn't seem to be any concrete plans.
As far as
"re-dos" go, he said they discuss such things a lot, but didn't
mention anything specifically.
Any details on the
"Thor" movie? "I don't have a whole lot to tell you," said
Feige. "I think I'll have a whole lot more next year."
More
plans for digital comics? Buckley said that whatever they do in that regard has
to complement (not just "not hurt") comic book stores, but "I'll
think you'll see a lot more coming out of digital media group in the next six
to 12 months."
Possibility of another Marvel vs. Capcom
game (a question that excited the audience)? "Would it be possible one
day? Yes. And maybe sooner than you think," teased Feige.
Despite
dressing up as a DC character, a fan in a Cassandra Cain Batgirl costume
graciously got the last question. She asked if Thor will be treated like a
"god" in his movie, and Feige said "They're not gods in the
comics, they're extremely long lived multi-dimensional beings," (which is
how the Norse characters were depicted in Earth X, but isn't necessarily the
canon in Marvel Comics), but they will be treated like (or referred to) as gods
on Earth in the movie.